The Cross: Turning Suffering Into Strength
Summary from Fr. Matthew Brown Homily Sep 7, 2025 St. Mary Magdalen Orthodox Church (OCA)
The Prophecy of the Cross
Today’s readings offer three layers of meaning. The first Gospel reading is a prophecy of Christ’s crucifixion, His passion, and His resurrection. Many parables look ahead to the sacrifice of the Son, rejected and killed, yet becoming the cornerstone.
The second reading, for the Sunday before the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, recalls Moses lifting his arms in the form of a cross so that Israel would prevail in battle. When his arms grew heavy, Aaron and others held them up, a sign of how the cross brings victory.
The third story speaks of the serpents in the wilderness. The people complained, longed for the comforts of Egypt, and were bitten by deadly serpents. God commanded Moses to lift up a bronze serpent on a pole. Whoever looked upon it was healed. This points to Christ, lifted on the cross, who heals us from the poison of sin.
Facing the Poison
What is this “poison”? It is our sinful inclination, destructive behaviors that lead us and those we love into ruin. Sin always ends in death. Yet the cross transforms the very thing meant for destruction into healing. Just as Israel was saved by looking at the serpent, we are healed by looking at Christ on the cross. Redemption does not erase evil but transforms it into something beautiful.
Baptism as Battle
Baptism is not merely washing away a stain of sin. It is a battle against death itself. When a child is plunged into the font, the water is both tomb and womb — burial with Christ and rebirth into His life. Baptism means joining the victory of Christ, who defeats death by using death against itself.
Parents, then, are not called to make their children “safe” but strong. Just as God allows hardships to transform us, parents prepare their children for the battle of life by teaching them to face suffering with courage and faith.
Transforming Suffering into Strength
The cross teaches that every failure, every loss, and every suffering can become an opportunity for transformation. What we once hated in ourselves, through Christ, becomes the very thing that saves us. Christians defeat their enemies not by annihilation, but by turning them into friends. The cross takes what is most painful and redeems it into beauty.
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